Carolyn Dodgen Meadows (born Carolyn Dodgen, 1938) is an American conservative activist, who served as president of the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

(NRA). She was elected the organization's president in April 2019, after then-president

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Sec ...

resigned. She also serves as 2nd vice chairwoman of the

American Conservative Union The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for Conservatism in the United States, conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Poli ...

's board and as chairwoman of the Stone Mountain Memorial Association Board of Directors.

Early life and education

Meadows was born and raised in

Cobb County, Georgia Cobb County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, and is a core county of the Atlanta metropolitan area in the north-central portion of the state. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 766, ...

. Her father was Roy N. Dodgen (after whom Dodgen Middle School is named) and her mother was Cleo (née Mabry) Dodgen. She graduated from

Sprayberry High School Sprayberry High School is a public high school located in northeastern Cobb County in Marietta, Georgia, United States, a north-northwestern suburb of metro Atlanta. It is a comprehensive senior high school (grades 9–12) with approximately ...

in 1956, after which she attended

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is al ...

Career

Meadows served as a member of the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is the primary committee of the Republican Party of the United States. Its members are chosen by the state delegations at the national convention every four years. It is responsible for developing and pr ...

from Georgia, a role she first assumed in 1988. She joined the board of the

in 2003, and had served as its second vice president prior to being elected as president in 2019. Meadows worked at

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American Arms industry, defense and aerospace manufacturer with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. It is headquartered in North ...

for 12 years as a buyer for the employee store. In April 2019, Meadows said that Rep.

Lucy McBath Lucia Kay McBath (née Holman; born June 1, 1960) is an American politician who has served in the United States House of Representatives from a district in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, since 2019. She represented from 2019 to 2023 and since ...

, a prominent advocate for

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms and ammunition by civilians. Most countries allow civilians to own firearms, bu ...

, only won election for Congress because she was a "minority female". Shortly after facing criticism, she apologized for the statement.

Personal life

Meadows lives in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

with her husband, Bob Meadows, with whom she has three sons and seven grandchildren.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meadows, Carolyn D. 1938 births Activists from Georgia (U.S. state) American gun rights activists Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Georgia State University alumni Living people National Rifle Association People from Cobb County, Georgia Presidents of the National Rifle Association